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The astronomical clock on the Olomouc town hall represents the first real effort at a 24-hour clock.
Following deliberate vandalism by Nazi troops in 1945, it was remade during the first years of communism in the style of social realism. Mosaics of workers and scientists and a dial that turns to display the International day of the worker and the birthdays of Lenin and Stalin can be seen.
The Olomouc clock shows the hour and minute of course, but also the day of the week, month, phase of the moon and a star map which revolves to indicate the visible part of the night sky. On the upper dial are the four seasons, and the twelve houses of the zodiac representing the twelve segments of the sky. Against this background revolve the earth and the other five planets known at the time.
It also shows saints days and days of communist holidays!
Olomouc is said to occupy a site of a Roman fort founded in the imperial period, the original name of which, Mons Julii, would have been gradually corrupted to the present form. Though this is just a legend, archaeological excavations revealed remains of a Roman military camp close to the city.
Olomouc became one of the most important settlements in Moravia in the Middle Ages. The city itself was founded in mid-thirteenth century and became one of the most important trade and power centres in the region. In the Middle Ages it was the biggest town in Moravia and competed with Brno for the position of the capital. Olomouc lost finally after the Swedes took the city for eight years (1642-1650).
The second half of the fifteenth century is what can be viewed as the start of Olomouc's golden age. However, during the Thirty Years' War, in 1640, Olomouc was occupied by the Swedes for eight years. They left the city in ruins and so it ceded its position to Brno. Olomouc was then fortified by Maria Theresa during the wars with Frederick the Great, who besieged the city unsuccessfully for seven weeks in 1758. In 1848 Olomouc was the scene of the emperor Ferdinand's abdication, and in 1850 an important conference between Austrian and German statesmen called Punctation of Olmütz took place here. At the conference German Confederation was restored and Prussia submitted its leadership to the Austrians.
My channel on you tube : http://www.youtube.com/alanheath is one of the most prolific from Poland. I have produced a number of films, most in English but also in Polish, French, Italian, Spanish and the occasional hint of German and Hebrew. My big interest in life is travel and history but I have also placed films on other subjects
There are a number of films here on the packaging industry. This is because I am the publisher of Central and Eastern European Packaging -- http://www.ceepackaging.com - the international platform for the packaging industry in this region focussing on the latest innovations, trends, design, branding, legislation and environmental issues with in-depth profiles of major industry achievers. Most people may think packaging pretty boring but it possibly effects your life more than you really imagine!
In 1997 I founded Polish Business News http://www.pbn.com.pl .There are a number of business related films here and I intend to do many more on CRM (customer relations management).
My blog can be found via http://www.ceepackaging.com and http://www.pbn.com.pl and contains background information and more details of many of my films. This information is in English.
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Olomouc main squareby alanheath4,955 views
The socialists made a big show of glorifying the manual worker while bestowing privilege upon pen pusher bureaucrats. A bit of a con trick really and not much different to the church's elevation of select people into supernatural beings via sainthood. Magnificent timepiece, would love to know more about it.
5micky2 2 years ago 6
Absolutely agree on that one!
I should have made a better film on this!
alanheath 2 years ago